Rush Cady felt the call to war at the young age of nineteen and left college to fight. His expectations of army life were soon shattered, as he was in the army for nearly a year before he finally saw combat. After he was mortally wounded on July 1st, his mother made the trip to Gettysburg to comfort her dying son and eventually bring his remains home.
A deeply religious soldier who enlisted in April 1861 and wrote more than 90 letters home throughout the war describing his experiences, Philip Hamlin deeply believed in the ordained success of the Union cause. He bore witness to his comrades’ famed heroic charge on July 2nd , and was tasked with reporting their sacrifice to his command. A well respected and beloved comrade, his death during Pickett’s charge reverberated deeply within the hearts of family and friends alike.
Born into a prominent family with a long and distinguished, military history, Philip John Kearny received a captain’s commission in the 11th NJ Volunteer Infantry in early 1861. His early struggles as a junior officer were not dissimilar from those of other young officers, and the challenges the 11th faced on the battlefields of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville further tested Kearny’s martial prowess. However, on July 2, 1863, Kearny would receive a mortal wound while leading his men in some of the most vicious fighting that afternoon—fighting which would earn both the 11th and Major Kearny an enduring place of honor on the fields of Gettysburg.
admin on Charles Phelps was just 19 years old when he enlisted in the 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. At Gettysburg, he shot down a Confederate soldier who had mortally wounded his brigade commander. He was himself mortally wounded by a shot to the back, leaving his family to grapple with the nature of his death and fight to claim a pension.
admin on Patrick O’Rorke rose rapidly through the ranks of society, from a poor Irish immigrant in Rochester, New York to graduating first in his class at West Point. After a distinguished early war career as an engineer, he became colonel of the 140th New York Infantry. He led his regiment up Little Round Top to repulse a Confederate assault, where he died from a shot through the neck. His legacy as a hero lives on in Rochester and Gettysburg alike.
admin on The son of Irish immigrants who moved to Boston, John Mahoney adopted the alias William Jones when he enlisted in the army in 1861. He joined Battery B of the 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery and saw action at battles such as Ball’s Bluff and Fredericksburg. In the artillery barrage that preceded Pickett’s Charge, Jones was decapitated by a Confederate shell.
admin on In the Fall of 1861, three brothers answered the call of duty, enlisting together in the 76th New York Volunteer Infantry. Only one would return home. After nearly two years of service, Hannibal Howell, the oldest brother, would come face to face with his destiny on July 1st, 1863.
admin on Richard Townsend’s first military experience was provost duty in Washington City with the 10th New Jersey. He joined Company C of the 12th New Jersey just days before the Battle of Chancellorsville—his trial by fire. The regiment fought hard at the Bliss Barn in July 1863, but it was during the repulse of Pickett’s Charge that Townsend went down. In his absence, his young wife struggled to support a son who would never know his father.
admin on At the outbreak of the war, Francis Gould left his job as a millworker for the thrill of military service. He was one of the men of the 13th Massachusetts Infantry mortally wounded during the struggle for Oak Ridge on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. His final resting place is disputed, with a gravestone in both Gettysburg National Cemetery and near his home in Massachusetts.
admin on Massachusetts gave Corporal Prince Dunton and the state’s 13th Volunteer Infantry a patriotic send-off when they left Boston. He was wounded while fighting on the first day at the battle of Gettysburg and found trampled at the end of the day as Union forces retreated through town. He left no family of his own behind, but his parents collected his pension until they, too, passed away.
